A review of trepanations in Anatolia with new cases

Abstract

In this study, trepanations in ancient Anatolia were discussed from a historical perspective. Trepanations were studied in respect to temporal and spatial distribution, sex and age distribution, techniques and reasons, completeness, healing and number of holes. Forty individuals from 23 different Anatolian settlements are identified to have undergone trepanations. Cranial trepanations in Anatolia show a distribution over a period of 10 000 years ranging from the Aceramic Neolithic period to the Late Ottoman period and spread to whole Anatolia. The greater majority of the individuals had single trepanation orifices while only four individuals were identified with multiple holes. It is observed that the surgical procedure was predominantly carried out on males in Anatolia. Main techniques of trepanations used in Anatolia are drilling and cutting. Early cases of trepanation were made by drilling; however, this technique has been used for cranial surgery until the Ottoman period. Scraping and rectangular sawing techniques first applied in the Early Bronze Age. The boring-andcutting technique was only applied in the Iron Age. More than half of the trepanations practiced due to cranial trauma. Training and treatment besides of cranial trauma are also considered as likely causes of trepanations in Anatolia. It is concluded that trepanation techniques are similar to South America and the Mediterranean region rather than Europe.

Tibial surgery in ancient Peru

“…Although cranial trepanations have been identified from archaeological contexts throughout the world (Erdal and Erdal, 2011;Liston and Preston Day, 2009), this is the first reported application of a post-cranial element being drilled in an attempt to treat a localized injury or infection of the leg. The surgery described here, though unsuccessful, demonstrates a similar technical skill to other trepanned crania recovered from the site of Kuelap and region.…”

Like You Need a Hole in the Head: Tool Innovation a Possible Cause of Trephination. A Case from Kerma, Nubia

“…Trephination is, arguably, the oldest medical practise in history (Lisowski, ; Ortner, ), with the Near East revealing the oldest cases of this practise. For example, positive trephination cases have been shown as far back as 8000 bc at the site of Anatolia, Turkey (Özbek, ; see review in Erdal & Erdal, ), and 9–10,000 bc at the site of Taforalt, Morocco (Dastugue, ). However, the past 2 centuries of archaeological investigation have shown this to be a worldwide practise that spans many temporal periods and cultures (Oakley et al ., ; Lisowski, ; Ortner, ).…”

Survival after trepanation—Early cranial surgery from Late Iron Age Switzerland

“…Trepanations are also recorded from other South American countries, such as Bolivia (Juengst and Chávez, 2015), Colombia (Gomez, 1973) and Mexico (Christensen and Winter, 1997;Velascosuarez et al, 1992;Wilkinson, 1975). Some trephined skulls have also been found in North or North-eastern Africa (Martin, 2013;Nikita et al, 2013;Pahl, 1993), Anatolia (Erdal and Erdal, 2011), Russia (Krivoshapkin et al, 2014) and East Asia (Han and Chen, 2007).…”